Deborah Edgerly, fired Oakland exec, fires back

Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross

Published
4:00 am PDT, Wednesday, July 8, 2009

After a year of silence, fired Oakland City Administrator Deborah Edgerlyhas filed suit against her former bosses, claiming she was unfairly terminated after refusing to hand out patronage to Mayor Ron Dellums' supporters and pay some of his wife's bills with city money.

The mayor dismissed Edgerly in July 2008 after instances of possible nepotism involving her surfaced, including the allegation that she had tipped her nephew, who also worked for the city, of an impending gang raid.

In her suit, filed Monday in Alameda County Superior Court, Edgerly says the mayor's wife and unpaid adviser, Cynthia Dellums, directed her to put former Dellums campaign supporters on the city payroll and pay her cell phone bill with city money.

In May 2008, the suit says, Cynthia Dellums asked Edgerly to come up with city money to pay the couple's $1,600 Pacific Gas and Electric Co. bill.

Edgerly also claims that City Attorney John Russobalked at her request that he pay the city back $4,200 in paycheck advances.

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Russo said Tuesday, "I don't remember it that way at all. I was the one who offered the repayments when Edgerly said there was no problem."

As for the rest of the allegations, Russo said, "We will answer all of them in court."

The mayor's office declined to comment.

Niners play: To the howl of critics, state Sen. Elaine Alquist is seeking a bill to allow the San Francisco 49ers' planned billion-dollar stadium in Santa Clara to be exempt from competitive bidding.

The bill, SB43, originally intended to change part of the state's health and safety code, was rewritten by the Santa Clara Democrat to free the stadium's joint powers board from having to go through the usual bureaucratic bidding process and instead pick whomever the team wants.

"A hijacked Senate bill now hijacks the rights of Santa Clarans to enforce their own city charter," said stadium critic Bill Baileyof the group Santa Clara Plays Fair.

Russell Lopez, a spokesman for Alquist, said the change would only allow Santa Clara to waive the competitive bidding rules - not mandate the change.

"It would be their choice," Lopez said.

Lopez said the bill was his boss' idea.

"We don't want to take the chance of losing the 49ers," Lopez said. He said private conversations with people close to the 49ers have led Alquist to believe the team will leave the state if it doesn't land a stadium in Santa Clara.

Niners spokesman Steve Finesaid team officials have never made such a threat.

"We have been in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 60 years and have no plans to leave," he said.

Meanwhile, Santa Clara spokesman Dan Beermansaid the city was already moving ahead with its own charter review committee to determine whether the Niners should be allowed to build their stadium using their contractor - without putting the project out to bid.

If the panel agrees, he said, city voters would be asked to sign off.

Got art? Having hit a wall at the Presidio, Donald and Doris Fisherare getting an invite to house their extensive contemporary art collection in another saintly city: St. Paul, Minn.

"It's always tough when you are working within the constraints of a national park or historic landmark," said a sympathetic Ellen Muller, economic development manager for St. Paul.

And after hearing that the Fishers were considering moving their collection out of San Francisco, Muller said, St. Paul decided to put out the welcome mat.

After all, said Muller, "we are a huge arts and culture town."

Muller said St. Paul doesn't have a location in mind for the Fishers' museum, but that her city is ready to explore any number of options - including along the Mississippi River, which flows through town.

Fisher spokesman Alex Tourksaid the family is "open to hearing all suggestions" and appreciates St. Paul's offer.

"With that said, if the Fishers are to house their collection in the city of a saint, they would certainly prefer the city of Saint Francis," Tourk said.

Heat and smoke: A marijuana advocacy group plans to begin airing a 30-second spot today around the state that indirectly urges Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature to legalize weed - but good luck seeing it.

Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, which is behind the ad, said a number of network affiliates in the Bay Area and Los Angeles rejected the ad over concerns that it promoted smoking marijuana.

Other stations were still thinking it over.

The spot opens with a woman describing the budget crisis in Sacramento who then laments: "But the governor and Legislature are ignoring millions of Californians who want to pay taxes - we're marijuana users.

"Taxes from California's marijuana users could pay the salaries of 20,000 teachers," she says. "Isn't it time?"

The ad will air some 120 times in the next three days, primarily on cable outlets - keep an eye out.